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 The patients were potentially exposed to carbapenem-resistant
Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) bacteria between October and January, and
the bug may have contributed to the deaths of two patients, UCLA
said in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement did not specify where the patients were infected, but
the Los Angeles Times reported that it occurred at UCLA's Ronald
Reagan Medical Center in Los Angeles.
According to the Times, UCLA became aware late last month of the
outbreak, which may have been spread by a specialized endoscope
inserted down the throat. The paper reported that 179 people in
total might have been exposed.
State and local public health officials were immediately notified,
the UCLA statement said, and the infected scopes were removed from
use.
UCLA said it had already contacted more than 100 patients who were
potentially exposed, and it offered free home testing kits that it
will later analyze.
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Further details were not immediately available.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb and Curtis Skinner; Editing by Nick
Macfie and Lisa Von Ahn)
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